London, 1948: Track Star Mel Patton

TIME featured American track star Mel Patton as its cover subject. His sprinting prowess as a student U.S.C., and his unofficial world record of running 100 meters in 9.3 seconds, had earned him the nickname of “world’s fastest human.”

Patton, a force on the track, certainly didn’t look it to his opponents – or even his teammates. “At 23, Mel Patton looks fragile enough to be bowled over by the smell of locker-room sweat. … In the chow-line last week, a husky teammate yelled at him: ”Step aside and let us weight-men in. No fuss, now—you’re the one man around here I can lick,” said TIME’s cover story at the time.

He fell behind the gun in his signature event, the 100-meter dash, but came back from the disappointment by notching two gold medals, in the 200-meter dash and and the 4×100-meter relay.